New York Instances bestselling author Kostya Kennedy models this captivating, character-rich story against the back-drop of 1 of the most pressing questions in sports: should we let our sons play soccer? At the top quality of America’s most well-known game is the glittering NFL, a fan-stoked cash machine and in addition an opaque enterprise under scrutiny for the physical hazards enforced on its players. Then there’s senior high school football, unrivaled for the key lifestyle lessons it imparts-discipline, about Lasting Influence: One Team, One Season. What Happens When Our Sons Play Soccer leadership, cooperation, humility, perseverance-yet also a brain-rattling, bone-breaking game whose consequences are at best misinterpreted, and, at the worst, deadly. What’s the parent of a young athlete to make of that?

The New Rochelle SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL team in suburban New York is similar to many in the united states: a way to obtain civic pride, a manhood workshop for any revered coach and an emotional proving ground for boys of widely differing backgrounds. In the fall of 2014, New Rochelle’s period unfolded alongside watershed NFL head injury revelations and domestic abuse instances (remember Ray Grain?), as well as fatalities on close by fields.

The dramatic story of that season, for players, parents and coaches, underscores fundamental questions. Are football’s natural risks so great that the sport may not survive as we know it? Or are those risks worth the benefits that the overall game is constantly on the bestow, and that can stay with a young man for a lifetime?